Tonight, Sons of Anarchy returns (10 p.m. ET on FX), and whether you’re a die-hard fan who’s forgotten where the season 5 finale left off, or a new viewer curious to see star Charlie Hunnam (the newly-cast Christian Grey) in action, here are five things you need to know/remember about the state of SAMCRO, which, newbies, stands for Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (the outlaw charter Hunnam’s character, Jax, is president of). We’ll try to keep this as simple as possible:

• Why SAMCRO’s former president, Clay (Ron Perlman), is in jail: There is no love lost between Jax and his stepfather, now that Jax knows Clay was responsible for the death of his father, the MC’s co-founder who’d wanted to take the gun-running club legit, long before the series began. Jax also knows Clay’s other crimes, which include, but are not limited to: murdering the club’s other founder, putting a hit on Jax’s old lady Tara (Maggie Siff), and orchestrating a series of break-ins that resulted in the death of the local sheriff’s wife and unborn child. The crime Clay now stands accused of — murdering gangster Damon Pope in the season 5 finale — is the one thing he didn’t do. Unable to k!ll Clay, Jax used the people he has under his thumb — club members Juice (Theo Rossi) and Tig (Kim Coates) and his mother Gemma (Katey Sagal) — to frame Clay for the murder knowing that Pope’s successor, August Marks (Billy Brown), would make sure Clay dies in prison. Because of that move, club VP Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) cut off his patch.

• Why Jax controls Juice, Tig, and Gemma: In brief, Juice was blackmailed into turning rat last season, ended up k!lling a club member who could’ve outed him, and then tried to take his own life. Instead of outing him to the club — only Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) has a clue — Jax told Juice he’ll now do whatever he tells him to do. That was also Jax’s deal with Tig, whom he’s bought a (temporary?) stay of execution. Tig k!lled Pope’s innocent-bystander daughter in season 4 and paid for it in the season 5 premiere by watching Pope burn one of his daughters alive. The mess Tig started resulted in the prison death of Jax’s best friend, club member Opie (Ryan Hurst), and Pope expecting Jax to deliver Tig to him. As for Gemma, Jax doesn’t know what role she may have played in his father’s death, but he does know she was high when she got in a car accident while driving his kids. He made her cozy back up to Clay, the husband who beat her (after she’d fired a shot at Clay’s head), in exchange for access to her grandchildren again.

• Why Tara is in jail: Jax’s wife is a doctor, so she arranged to volunteer at the prison where former Son Otto (played by series creator Kurt Sutter) is on death row, so she could “treat” Otto and convince him not to help the Feds build their RICO case against the club. Otto asked for a crucifix that his late wife used to own, and Tara got it from Gemma and brought it to him. Otto then used it to brutally stab a prison nurse — who, it turns out, was the sister of a former U.S Marshal who’d been given early retirement for using excessive force, Lee Toric (Donal Logue). Tara was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder in the season 5 finale. But who went to the cops: Was it Toric thinking Jax had sent Tara there for that purpose, or Gemma, who threatened to lie and tell the authorities Tara told her the plan for Otto when she asked for the crucifix? Otto, by the way, is done talking: He bit off his own tongue (which you will get to see again during tonight’s “previously on” montage).

• Why Tara and Jax are distant: The reason Gemma threatened to turn on Tara is because Tara wants to get her kids — Thomas, her baby with Jax, and Abel, his toddler with his ex-wife Wendy (Drea de Matteo) — away from the outlaw life. Tara had just accepted a job in Portland, Oregon, and told Jax she and the boys were going with or without him. She also asked Jax to sign papers making Wendy the boys’ legal guardian should anything happen to them. After Tara’s arrest, Jax tore up the papers without signing them. He doesn’t want his kids with Wendy, a recovering drug addict he recently shot up to discredit a story she could’ve told the cops to gain custody of the boys. That story: How she’d been kidnapped by the IRA, the Sons’ gun supplier, which prefers dealing with Clay to Jax.

• Why Jax’s partnership with Nero (Jimmy Smits) is so important: Nero, who’s now romantically involved with Gemma, was introduced in season 5 as someone Jax could emulate — an OG gang-banger with an exit strategy, who just wanted to bank enough money to buy a farm his kid could enjoy. He left his crew, the Byz-Lats (which includes Nero’s cousin, played by Dave Navarro), to handle themselves while he ran an escort service, Diosa Norte. Since SAMCRO’s “legitimate” business résumé includes a pr0n company, Jax saw this as a natural opportunity to partner. But as Nero helped Jax out of multiple jams — and as the Byz-Lats’ territory was threatened, for which, and this is essential to remember, Jax gave the gang weapons to handle — Nero got sucked back into the life.

I can't wait to see the controversial premiere tonight. I'm dying to see how it plays out.

Kyeezy said:

i hate gemma and clay. both their old a.sses needs to just sit their a.ss down somewhere. i'm trying to figure out who reported tara. thought her lawyer said things were looking good since otto did what he did. if it was gemma....fu*k that bi*ch!!! and i hope tara and jax really disown her manipulating crazy a.ss. or she gets k!lled by someone.

Clay should have died in the season four finale. Now Gemma is beyond useless at this point. Kurt refuses to get rid of her. The bs she caused in season five was pointless. As for Tara, I don't think anyone reported Tara. I think crazy Otto wanted to set her up from the jump.

I can't wait to see the controversial premiere tonight. I'm dying to see how it plays out.

Clay should have died in the season four finale. Now Gemma is beyond useless at this point. Kurt refuses to get rid of her. The bs she caused in season five was pointless. As for Tara, I don't think anyone reported Tara. I think crazy Otto wanted to set her up from the jump.

naw he's too big of a character he'll probably get his next season... he still drives the show

Even better to k!ll him off. I actually don't think Clay makes it out this season.

I don't know Clay drives the whole story line since day 1. They couldn't really talk about anything the final season if Clay were to die this one. I think Clay ends up getting someone else k!lled in the club this season. I can actually see Tara dying before Clay did.

On FX's Sons of Anarchy, Jax Teller's road to hell has always been paved with good intentions. That will be especially true in Season 6.

"Jax is trying to balance being a good father, a good husband and a good leader of an outlaw organization — therein lies the tragic flaws of this guy," creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter tells TVGuide.com. "He's got this sense of, 'I can unplug us from all the bad sh--. Let's go legit — let's head in that direction because that's going to keep us alive.' As the season progresses, the question is: How do you unplug if people perceive you as the source of power? And is it too late? Are things set in motion in such a way where it just can't be done? That's really the quest for him this season."

But as Jax (Charlie Hunnam) tries once and for all to get SAMCRO out of the gun-running business, he'll have to stay one step ahead of ex-U.S. Marshal Lee Toric (Donal Logue), who is bent on bringing the club down for its role in the death of his sister. And with Tara (Maggie Siff) and Clay (Ron Perlman) both behind bars as the season begins, Toric has some potentially useful tools at his disposal.

So, will Jax be able to finally right the ship? Will his personal life remain as messy as his life in the club? And will there even be a club left to save by the end of the season? Check out six teasers for the new season, which premieres Tuesday at 10/9c on FX.

1. Marshal Law: Lee Toric no longer has a badge, which means that he doesn't necessarily have to play by the rules — not that he ever did when he was a Marshal. "He's really a different kind of adversary for these guys," Sutter says. "He's got all the pull and the clout of a lawman, yet he's basically just this unhinged dude that's hell-bent for revenge. In one of the first three episodes, he has a speech with Clay about how he doesn't give a f--- about justice. He is one of those cops that might as well be an outlaw." But as viewers will quickly learn, Toric has some dark demons, which may be his kryptonite. "We saw that huge bag of meds last season," Sutter teases. "He's got his own sh-- that he's dealing with, and perhaps he's a guy that has a ticking clock. Perhaps he's not afraid because he doesn't have much time."

2. Orange Is the New Black: Toric will quickly pounce on both Tara and Clay, offering them protection while they're in prison if they give him intel on the club's illegal activity. Although Jax and Tara are in a rough spot in their relationship, Clay is seen as the real threat, since ratting out the club might be the only way he can survive in The Big House. "I think that Jax's interpretation of Clay is true. That's the reputation Clay has earned with Jax and with the club, and probably with the audience," Sutter says. "I felt like it would be a disservice to Clay to not have him somewhat impacted by the life. I've seen a lot of these guys, when they get a little bit older, they get tired. It doesn't mean they go rat, but their priorities shift."

While the old Clay might have done anything to stay alive, Sutter hints that being betrayed by Jax and Gemma (Katey Sagal) has changed Clay. "When Gemma betrayed Clay, that was the crack for Clay. That was the thing that he believed would never happen," Sutter says. "I think that changed him on a cellular level. This season, I think he feels like [his] days are numbered. He's a guy that's looking for some redemption on every level, with his family, with his club. You don't know if you should trust Clay... but I think it's interesting to have him go down this path, and at least be able to have that experience and perhaps be a different guy as a result."

3. Trouble at Home: Although Tara's prison stint is short-lived, she will still feel somewhat trapped in Charming. "The experience of the last six months has changed Tara," Sutter says. "She's this woman who's been a.ssaulted, almost k!lled, and put in prison for the club within a period of less than a year. How does that not impact you when you have an infant at home? How does that not tweak you? How does she stay loyal to the guy she loves when he's the source of all those things?" So, are Jax and Tara doomed? Will Tara just pack up the boys and leave? "This show is really just a tragic love story. That love is the hope in the show," Sutter says. " It's going to be a bumpy ride for them this season, but no matter how drastic or extreme [things get], each of them feels that perhaps their connection will see them through. Whether that's true or misguided or foolish, I don't know."

4. And Trouble Abroad: At the end of Season 5, Bobby (Mark Boone Jr.) turned in his vice president patch. This season, he's on the road, trying to establish a new nomad charter of SAMCRO. "Bobby's always sort of been the conscience of the club," Sutter says. "When he throws in that patch, it wasn't about, 'F--- you, I'm getting out.' It was, 'I don't know how to be your second.' He needs to realign himself. He's committed to the club, but somehow Redwood's not working." Taking Bobby's place is Chibs (Tommy Flanagan), who, despite being loyal to Jax through the years, may also disagree with the president's choices. "Chibs is more of a peer to Jax than Bobby was," Sutter says. "When you have peers, they're not afraid to say, 'Hey, what the f--- are you doing?' I don't think Chibs is afraid to do that with Jax, and one could argue that's why he put Chibs there."

Ultimately, Jax may not have any allies. "One of the interesting parallels we get to create is that [we saw] Clay a few seasons back isolating himself and sitting in that chapel alone," Sutter says. "We see Jax doing that. We see Jax ultimately being alone and trying to be isolated because, as Jax says, that's what you need to do to be a leader. You need to separate yourself from the people that you're leading so that you can be clear-minded and not be swayed."

5. New Faces: Although this season welcomes back Toric and Nero Padilla (Jimmy Smits) from last season, there will be plenty of new blood. Peter Weller plays Charles Barosky, a crooked ex-cop who teams with Jax and Nero to re-launch the club's pr0n production. Barosky will introduce the guys to Collette Jane (Deadwood and Treme star Kim d!ckens), a madam who can also help expand the club's escort ventures. (She'll also have an impact on Jax personally.) Finally, there's The Shield's CCH Pounder, who plays the San Joaquin County District Attorney whom Toric recruits in his crusade against SAMCRO.

6. A Very Controversial Premiere: We won't spoil it, but Tuesday's season premiere features a scene that is sure to be talked about. But Sutter insists he's not going for cheap shock value. "I've wanted to do that story for about three years," Sutter told reporters at the Television Critics a.ssociation fall previews in July. "I knew it would be somewhat controversial, but I feel like as much as I wouldn't do something [just] because it was controversial, I'm also not going to do something because it is controversial. ... I feel like nothing is done gratuitously. ... I am not trying to make a statement. This is a story that's not being done to be sensational."

Rather, Sutter maintains that the potentially polarizing scene in question is a major turning point for the show as it kicks off its penultimate season. "It is truly the catalyst for the third act of our morality play," he said. "It sets everything in motion for this season that will ultimately lead to the end that then will bring us into the final season and what I see as the ultimate comeuppance of everything in terms of the series."

I don't know Clay drives the whole story line since day 1. They couldn't really talk about anything the final season if Clay were to die this one. I think Clay ends up getting someone else k!lled in the club this season. I can actually see Tara dying before Clay did.

True but he has done way to much to still be alive. He needs to go & take Juice with him. Tara is going no where. She is there till the end.